Wine and Cheese Tasting

Tuesday, November 19, 7:30 pm,$20 pp

Your hosts, John Houser and Pierre Tousignant

To be held Chez Pierre T.

Nearly a decade ago, David Buttefield and Piers Roberts were sipping a calvados in France when they came up with an idea.

“We said, ‘Wouldn’t it be great to make an apple spirit from Ontario apples?’” Butterfield said.

Fast forward to 2019, and the pair is the driving force behind the recently opened Spy Cider House and Distillery, located at 808108 Side Road 24 in the Blue Mountains.

The name of the company is derived from northern spy apples, which are grown in Ontario’s apple country.

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However, when naming their products, they took the name in a different direction, instead paying homage to James Bond.

The company has two products available, the Golden Eye Cider made from locally grown apples, and the Never Say Never organic cider.

The latter is made from apples from the 80-acre orchard located next to the cider house. The company has spent the last several years restoring more than 16 acres of old apple trees.

They will also be making Crimson Tide, a dry apple cider infused with black currant.

The childhood friends have been partners in the beverage industry since 2007. Butterfield has been making wine in Burgundy, France, since 2001 and Roberts is an award-winning cider maker who has created recipes for Collective Arts Brewing.

Butterfield believes in the concept of “terroir,” which states fruit grown in a specific place can “yield a beverage with distinct and unique flavours, aromas and complexities.”

In an interview with Simcoe.com, he said, “This is where we always wanted to be, on a farm in apple country, being able to tell the story where it comes from.”

The company also has a large copper still in its facility, which will be used to make an apple-based brandy, a first for Ontario.

“We think — because of our background, where our source of inspiration comes from — we’ll have just incredible products,” he said.